Hooks Notebook: 06.18.06

Left-hander Josh Muecke will start for the Hooks in tonight's
first-half finale. Muecke has endured a rough first half. After being
on his pitching arm by a line drive in the season opener, he missed six
weeks with a deep bone bruise.

With the exception of one solid long relief stint at Wichita on May
31, Muecke's outings have been less than stellar. He has given up eight
earned runs in his past two appearances spanning 2.2 innings. In eight
outings over 11.2 innings this year, Muecke is 0-2 with a 13.89
ERA.

"We want to get this kid built up and get his some innings," Hooks
manager Dave Clark said.

The possibility exists of moving Muecke to the starting rotation
during the second half. Clark said Astros player development officials
have talked about it, but no decision has been made.

CORTES TO 39

Hooks left fielder Jorge Cortes extended his streak of reaching base
safely to 39 games with his first-inning single that scored the Hooks'
first run. The single extended Cortes' hit streak to 16 games. During
the on-base streak, which began on May 7 at Arkansas, Cortes has hits
in 34 of the games.

TURNING 40

When they picked up their 40th victory on Friday night, the Hooks
became the 25th team to win 40 games in a half since the Texas League
went to 70-game halves in the 2000 season.

The most wins in a 70-game half was Round Rock's 50 in the first
half of the 2001 season. Since 2000, all but two of the eventual league
champions has won 40 games in a half. The only exceptions were Midland
in 2005 and Arkansas in 2001.